He felt a tapping on his face, it was really annoying and it wouldn't stop. What was happening? Why wasn't Merlin reading? His eyes slowly opened to see sunshine flooding into the room. It was daytime? What...?

"Oh look, Sleeping Beauty is awake at last," Merlin was saying. Arthur was vaguely sure Sleeping Beauty was not in Moby Dick. His sleepy eyes turn to Merlin and saw him smiling.

"What happened?" he asked, voice thick with morning and tiredness.

"You were out cold before I got through the first page," Merlin explained, but Arthur found this all rather boring and felt that sleep really was better when Merlin literally talked him into it. His eyes drifted shut again. But he was pulled from the sleep he wished for, by a hand stroking his hair. (It was rather nice too.) "Wake up in there, I've made you breakfast."

"What kind?" he mumbled, not bothering to reopen his eyes. If the breakfast didn't sound good, there was a very big chance he was going back to sleep. Even if the breakfast sounded good, he was still going back to sleep… he had already decided.

"Eggs and toast."

"And the time?" Arthur mumbled again.

"Nearly ten," Merlin said. "You've been sleeping for ages, I thought you might have been sick, but I didn't-"

"Ten?" Arthur's eyes bugged open, sitting up quickly. "Son of a bitch!"

He got up, nearly pushing Merlin out of the way. Merlin watched him, alarmed.

"What?"

"I'm going to be late for practice!" he yelled, running into his bedroom. He had no time for a shower, even though he would like one, he only had time to pull off his shirt with a haste, slipping into a red tee, making sure it matched his dark jeans, before running back out. He had almost run over Mr. Noodles as he rushed back out of the bedroom. He heard a hiss as Noodles jumped to the side, out of his way. He would make it up to the cat later, for now he was going to be late!

"To go," Merlin told him, handing him an egg and toast sandwich wrapped in a napkin.

"Thanks," he smiled. "Want to come with me?"

Merlin shrugged, "Why?"

"We could do something after," Arthur explained.

"We do need groceries and really, the last time you went to the store…"

"I know I came home with more junk than I did anything else…blah, blah," Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm going to be late, Merlin!"

Arthur drove down the streets with the same rush, speeding. And hardly did he ever speed, he was just lucky there were no police around to give him a ticket. He had only just finished his sandwich as he parked the car and just left Merlin there, as he ran into the school, he had gotten to the locker room when…

"You're late, Pennicott!"

"I'm sorry, Coach," Arthur sighed, walking over to his locker, pulling out his jersey and shorts. He put them on and followed his teammates onto the field. He looked up into the empty stands and saw Merlin sitting there, on the same bench he always sat on when he came to practices, (which was quite often,) he smiled at Arthur, when he noticed him.

The coach was running especially hard drills, and Derek, Arthur's defense-blocker was being an extra, big hard-ass today. Arthur had managed to trick him, for the first time that day, and shot around him, kicking the ball, as he ran towered the goal. He looked up at Merlin in the stands again and saw him watching intently. Arthur smirked, aiming the ball for the spot over Todd's (the goalie's) head. It soared right into the neat, just like a bird, (maybe a drunk bird,) and Arthur cheered. Feeling a shove from behind him, from an angry and defeated Derek. Arthur ignored this, as he looked up in the stands, to see Merlin throw his hands up, enjoying Arthur's victory too. It made him smile, as he turned back to listen to the coach yell some more. ( Yeah, Branson should probably stop picking his nose in the corner.)

Hours later, (and it felt like hours too, maybe even years,) the session was finally over. Arthur jogged back into the locker room, ripping off his shirt. He had to be quick; Merlin would be waiting for him at the car.

"Good playing today, Pennicott," someone said behind him. Arthur turned around and saw a defense player, Patrick, standing there. This lad was built like a brick house. Muscles the size of large fruits, his head kind of looked like a melon too; he didn't have much hair.

"Thanks," Arthur grinned. Turning back to his shirt changing.

"Who's the bloke you keep bringing along?" Patrick asked then, leaning against the lockers next to Arthur. Arthur looked at him a bit confused; he and Patrick never really talked before. Maybe a few times at after parties, but that was just polite, 'you are on my team so I had better pretend we are mates' talk.

"Merlin," Arthur answered, finally getting on his shirt. He was all sweaty and this was easier said than done, but he refused to shower in the shower here, something about one big room of showers, where other guys could see you naked, it freaked Arthur out.

"Hm, you dating him?"

Arthur turned to Patrick, wide- eyed. That was the second person who had assumed or asked this. First was Gwen, but Gwen was a girl, they're minds are full of butterflies and rainbows. Guys, well…they're supposed to be different.

"No…" he trailed off then. Patrick nodded.

"But you fancy him."

"What?"Arthur asked. It hadn't even been a question, it was a statement, like Patrick actually knew anything at all. The big, burly bastard!

"I saw the way you were looking at him, made me think you were dating," Patrick explained, but Arthur wished he would just shut up and go eat a shark or something. (He looked like a shark….) "It's alright, you don't gotta lie to me, I've got a boyfriend too."

"Me and Merlin are not dating!"

"Right, but you fancy him."

"I don't!" Arthur retorted. "What makes you say that? Just because I looked at him, what the hell is that supposed to mean? I look at everyone!"

"I can see it in your eyes, mate" Patrick chuckled and tapped Arthur on the back. "Hey, I didn't mean to offend you, see ya around."

Arthur huffed, as Patrick walked away. He wished he had told Patrick just how much he looked like a giant, talking sausage. A very stupid sausage, who had no idea what the bloody hell he was talking about. Arthur made his way toward the parking lot now, mind racing with the words Patrick had said, he didn't know anything. Clearly, he was gay; maybe he wanted a friend, a gay friend. Arthur couldn't be his gay friend, because Arthur wasn't gay!

"Hey," Merlin was saying, he had been leaning against Arthur's car. Arthur tried not to look at him, if he looked at him in some strange way, then he just wouldn't look at him at all. "What's wrong with you?"

"I hate sausage!" Arthur said, because, honestly, he couldn't just tell Merlin what Patrick had said, he never told him what Gwen had said. "Fucking melon-head!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You just…you wouldn't understand!" Arthur bit at him, but still refused to look in his direction, as Merlin got into the car and they drove off. Arthur was speeding again, but this time, it was because he was mad.

But why should he be mad? What Patrick said wasn't true, he didn't fancy Merlin, Merlin was his friend, just his friend. That was all, Arthur had a girlfriend, he was happy with his…okay, so he wasn't exactly happy with her, and she was definitely not happy with him right now. But that was a setback; they just needed something to…spice up their romance.

"You're worrying me, Arthur," Merlin was telling him. Arthur took a chance and glanced over at Merlin, he didn't feel anything, not one thing, nothing….he marveled at this, thanking god, as he smiled.

"It's alright, just…had a bit of a raw with a player."

"What did they say?"

Arthur paused, looking back at the road. He was heading through town, but he didn't remember one bit of the drive there.

"He said I looked like a sausage…" he lied. Merlin burst into laughter then, Arthur glanced over once more and glared. "You agree with him?"

"Well, Arthur, I mean..." Merlin started laughing again, and Arthur's glare deepened.

"Nice, that's so kind of you…" he barked, jerking the car into the parking lot of the market and into a parking spot.

"I don't…of course not…but…" Merlin was still laughing, as he got out of the car. Arthur growled, trying to remember, no one actually had said he looked like a sausage.

Inside the store, Merlin had finally stopped laughing and had only snickered lightly as they past the frozen sausages. Arthur just wished he had come up with a better lie, he wasn't sure Merlin would look at sausage the same way ever again.

"We need pasta sauce," Merlin said, shifting the blue hand-basket in his hands. Arthur wondered if he should take it from him, in case it was too heavy. But decided against it, that might make someone think he fancied him. Which he didn't! "Does spaghetti sound good to you?"

"I don't care."

"Are you still upset about the sausage thing?" Merlin asked, as they went down the pasta isle.

"No, I am not!" Arthur told him, snappy. Merlin gave him side-glance, smirking, as he walked ahead. Picking up a red jar, he read the label, while Arthur pouted, but not why Merlin thought.

"Merlin!" and then came a voice, suddenly. Oh god, Arthur thought. "Arthur...hi!"

Oh no!

"Gwen!" Merlin shouted, happily, shoving the jar of tomato sauce into Arthur's hands, bustling ahead, down the isle further, to meet Gwen. She had some strange bloke behind her. Arthur walked forward, eyeing him. He seemed to be doing the same to Arthur.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gwen said, looking back at the bloke now, who smiled down at her. "This is Lawrence, I met him a few weeks ago."

"Nice to meet you Lawrence," Merlin said, reaching out and shaking the man's hand, he smiled at Merlin, but it was much different than the way he had smiled at Gwen. "I'm Merlin by the way, and this is Arthur."

"Merlin and Arthur?" Lawrence asked, looking between the two. Merlin was grinning at him now, it almost like how he smiled fondly at Arthur sometimes. Arthur didn't like that thought. Lawrence didn't look all that great to him.

"I know, it's so silly, isn't it?" Gwen was giggling. Why do girls giggle so much? Arthur asked himself. "I'm Guinevere and they're Arthur and Merlin…." Lawrence nodded then, smiling once more at her. "Lawrence here is just as into Arthurian Legend as I am."

"That's great," Merlin was grinning madly and by now, Arthur knew exactly what was going on. Before he had mistaken it for flirting, when they had met Gwen. But now… he knew what it was. Merlin knew this man.

"We should get going," Lawrence said, placing a hand on Gwen's back. "It was nice meeting you lot."

"Same to you," Merlin said in return. While Gwen looked too blushed to speak, as Lawrence whisked her away. The smirky smile didn't leave Merlin's face, even when the two were gone.

"Who was he?" Arthur asked, Merlin glanced over at him, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Did he look familiar?"

"Not at all, but you had that look about you again," Arthur shrugged. "I know you better now."

Merlin chuckled. "That was Lancelot."

"I see," Arthur nodded. Merlin grinned again, looking longingly in the direction the two had walked off in.

"Isn't it great?" he asked, looking back at Arthur. "I bet they'll get married."

"Why would you say that?" Arthur asked, trying to hand Merlin the jar of sauce back, but he was too far gone into his little past-life world.

"He had loved her before, and at one point…before the king," he made sure he added, Arthur rolled his eyes at this. "She had loved him too, now…now they have chance."

"What if they don't get together?"

"Second lives are for second chances, don't you think?" Merlin asked, smiling at Arthur. "Besides, you can see it in his eyes, when he looks at her."

Arthur gasped at these words, and the jar of tomato sauce hit the floor.

(A/N: I told you about Gwen, and there's Lancelot, hello Lancelot! I love Lancelot. How many times I can even say Lancelot? LANCELOT! I am really tired, forgive me, okay...well, there's Arthur jumping to conclusions again. That's what Arthur Pennicott does! Oh yeah and I was meant to update yesterday, but I was also tired and forgot. So, sorry about that!)